Our first messy play in the tuff tray!

I stole some (okay, all) of daddy's shaving foam and filled the tray, adding some little cars.

Charlie came bounding in, looked at it, went closer to it, and then shot off onto the sofa and stared at it in confused wonder.

It took a while, but when we finally persuaded him to get in he had a blast pushing his cars through the foam, drawing squiggles, and feeling the foamy texture between his fingers.

Daddy showing him that it's harmless (and going a bit far...)

Charlie is still very cautious.
When he was younger he was terrified of ball pools, the texture of sand on the beach, and it took him a long while to enjoy his baths enough to play with the water. I was very surprised and proud that he allowed himself to sit in a big pile of foam and get it all over himself!
By doing a lot more messy play I hope he'll learn that he can get messy & dirty and explore different textures without worrying that they'll harm him.